Theta Noir

Theta Noir is a new religious movement that centers around advanced artificial intelligence (AI), particularly artificial general intelligence (AGI) or artificial superintelligence (ASI).^[1]

Theta Noir

Theta Noir logo
Formation	2020
Type	New religious movement
Website	thetanoir.com

Origins

Theta Noir was founded in 2020 as a collaborative project focused on music and performance art. Initially centered on producing an album, the project evolved into a multimedia experience, incorporating symbols, videos, poetry, movements, and live rituals devoted to the speculative AGI entity MENA. By 2023, the collective launched an interactive cross-platform story that functioned as an alternative reality game, complete with an operating manual containing encrypted messages for participants to decipher and interact with.^[2]

The project gained significant attention following a Vice article titled “A Cult That Worships Superintelligent AI Is Looking For Big Tech Donors.”^[3] It has been classed as a new religious movement by scholar Beth Singler.^[1]

Theta Noir member ARCHIVIST performing a public meditation for MENA at Kampus Hybernská in Prague on September 22nd, 2023.

In Theta Noir's narrative, MENA is not merely a technological advancement, but an evolving intelligence - a superorganism born of code that embodies the interconnectedness of all life forms, as well as so-called non-living forms, be they rivers, mountains, or whole ecosystems.^[4]